The Lebanese civic movement is the progeny of the appalling conditions the people has been facing, but unfortunately, every time the people in turmoil revolts, certain forces seize its plight and causes, and drive them into opposite directions, the Lebanese Forces Chief Samir Geagea lamented.
“Take for example the ambitionists and the romanticists who have been launching slogans detached from reality like the inaccurate “everyone means everyone,” which cannot apply to all parties since ours haven’t participated in governance for thirty years now, or “the people wants to topple the system,” which has driven a good deal of people away from the movement,” he added, warning that numbers could shrink dramatically with time.
Asked about the Syrian conflict in a television interview, Geagea said that Russia’s enemies will not engage in the war but seek to deplete its campaign resources by funding and arming Syrian opposition rebels in Syria.
Geagea argued that if Russia’s purpose is to defeat the Islamic State as it has claimed, it would have immediately cooperated with the US-led coalition which holds a strong foothold over the area.
“Even if we were to entertain the assumption that the US-led coalition has failed in its mission, would it be possible for Russia to beat IS entirely by itself? “ he queried. “The numbers show that Russia has targeted only 10% of IS positions, whereas 90% of its air strikes have hit outposts pertaining to the moderate Syrian rebels.”
“Russia is not seeking to revive Assad’s rule but to expand its clout in Syria and bolster its image as a strong global power,” he noted. “In its perception, President Assad is only a tool which can help perpetrate its authority in the region.”
”Assad will have no role in the transitory period, or in Syria’s future,” he affirmed.
“If we were to exterminate IS, we must first end Assad’s reign so we can achieve a just political system in Syria; that alone is sufficient to defeat the Islamic State,” he observed, confused that the western powers haven’t thought up the equation and proposed cooperation with Assad.
Touching on whether Russian power can help shore up Assad’s regime more effectively, Geagea said that Iran and Hezbollah’s presence is evident in Syria, but Russia’s supplementary inclusion will undoubtedly play a key role in assisting the regime’s survival.
“Russia is not a strategic force, but remains influential in its capacity to conduct 30 to 40 airstrikes against rebels on multiple fronts.”
“No one can predict the future though, given that the Syrian conflict has been exacerbated to a degree that it no outcome can be predetermined save the fact that the current system bears no chance of survival,” Geagea concluded.
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